LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Visiting winery owners, vineyard managers and winemakers in France also provided an insight that was consistent with each great winery: the importance of vineyard location. They would walk out to the vineyard, dig their hands into the soil and exclaim, “This is all you have to know about our wines!”
My first opportunity to align Jordan Chardonnay with this philosophy came in the late 1980s when we started making J sparkling wine at the Jordan facility. J sparkling sourced all its fruit from the Russian River Valley, situated southwest of the winery and closer to the ocean. I was amazed when I tasted the grapes: the fruit intensity of this Russian River Chardonnay was so vibrant and crisp compared to the riper, rounder Alexander Valley Chardonnay fruit. In the Russian River, fog and breezes from the Pacific Ocean flow through the channel carved by the river, keeping temperatures moderate. Grapes ripen slowly, developing depth and richness while still maintaining bright, natural acidity. Along the river, well- drained gravelly soils have formed over millennia, marvelous for emulating the minerality found in French Chardonnays. Alexander Valley was, and still is, the ideal site for Cabernet Sauvignon, but its warm, Mediterranean climate was not ideal for Chardonnay. While following the estate philosophy of Bordeaux—growing all our own grapes on the same property around the winery—we weren’t allowing Jordan Chardonnay to realize its true potential as a wine that could stand alongside the great whites of Burgundy. By the late 1990s, we moved to sourcing Chardonnay grapes entirely from the cooler areas of the Russian River appellation, a decision that provided much greater success in capturing the elegance of a Burgundy-style white wine since the 2000 vintage.
In recent years, we have continued to search for the best vineyard sites whose soil composition was better suited for physiological maturity of the fruit. Our assembly of wonderful growers continues to evolve and exceed expectations with regard to farming practices, but on the rare occasions they have not, we embarked upon a plan to lease vineyard blocks and farm them ourselves rather than give up a great site.
IN THE VINEYARD
Even after 40 years of winemaking, I still call myself a humble student of Chardonnay, especially in the vineyards. I spend twice as much time in the vineyards of Russian River Valley than Alexander Valley. The delicate-skinned Chardonnay grapes simply demand more attention to achieve greatness.
Quality guides all our decisions. We spend the entire growing season making sure the vines achieve a balanced crop size—too much fruit, and it doesn’t ripen fully. Under- cropping, which many a winemaker thinks promotes the grape’s concentration of flavor, is as bad as over-cropping, as the imbalance has the vine focus more on the growth of canopy than ripening the grapes. We also pay attention to canopy management, strategically removing specific leaves so the grapes can develop evenly while not getting sunburned. Efforts are also made to avoid bunch rot, which would add bitter and astringent components to the flavor of Chardonnay.
In 2000, we changed harvesting times for Chardonnay, transitioning to night harvest—usually beginning around midnight when the air is coolest. (See Estate Tales Vol. 10, page 30). The grapes’ aromas are elevated, acids become brighter, and the fruit flavors are more intense. Grape skins become firmer when the fruit is cold, which is beneficial during the pressing phase. Cold skins minimize the phenolic extraction which reduces astringency. Back at the winery, it’s tremendous fun when we drop the fruit into the hopper to be pressed. The fruit aromas are so expressive with apples and pears, reminiscent of a perfume factory. Night harvesting by hand is more expensive, but the resulting vibrant flavors, bouquet and acidity are worth it.
More recently, we’ve taken long-term leases on our two best vineyard sources in the Russian River since 2015—a decision that costs more than letting the grower tend the vines but allows for ultimate control over grapevine uniformity and fruit quality. Now we can farm these properties exactly the way we want, adapting to every change during each growing season.
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